Decent sun lotion, we recommend P20, several people have changed to this since we've been recommending it.

Agree with Sarah, you can eat as cheap or as 'expensive' as you like. We ate in the more 'touristy' places. a couple of drinks and couple of mains cost us £30 with tip (10% is added automatically to the bill)Mouda, 0031, Coyote pizza are places that spring to mind as good places to eat (there were others, but can't remember the names). The portion sizes are hugeAcai has good drinks, but the food is not so good IMO

Oh, Fogos, did good snapper, a really good snapper. Their Pina Colada was just like a dessert. I know it's a girls drink, but after tasting Carries, I had to have one

Rashies for sure and boardies. No wet suits. Water is warm, warmer than Mauritius. the shallows are like a nice warm inviting bath

P20 is the best waterproof sunscreen we found a few years ago, put it on before you go and you don't have to reapply. Unless it rubs off, tops of feet from straps, etc.One thing to bare in mind about P20 it will stain white clothing with a yellow band where it soaks into the neck line etc. It more than likely never come out in the wash. Otherwise it is really, really good stuff

Vic, have non of the previous post helped u with that question? Lol There are cash machines available in Brazil, but sometimes u find they're not working or empty, although they were more reliable last year than the previous times we've been. The pousada in Jerri will take card and most likely most restaurants in Jerri will take card as it's alot more touristy than the other places we're going.

Make sure you remember to get your bank cards registered with your bank as being in Brazil otherwise they will block them as soon as you try to use it.

When we were there, we were told the only place that could be trusted to get cash from was the ATM at the petrol station.Apparently last year some places were skimming cards, I think one of them was a bakery?

Maestro cards need to be informed if you are going to use it in Brazil, like Sarah says, it will be automatically blocked if try to use it without telling them. I don't know about VISA, but if you can tell them, then it would be best to

Our Pousada took cards for payments. When paying bills we were asked if was card or cash

<EDIT> I don't know if you guys are going to be at Cumbuco over any weekends, the village fills up with the locals from Fortaleza, so has a party every saturday night. Starts about 10 - 11pm ish, finishes about 5am ishIt's loud, so bring ear plugs if it's not your thing The Sun rises at 5:30amSunday is a slow start, so get down the beach early and enjoy it before they get over their hangovers

Vic if it helps this is what I have worked out , we have about £160 left to pay on our hotels (total). We have a driver for 4 days which will be split between the cars. ( not sure how much that is ) I may budget £100 for that and buggies , for that petrol it will probs cost £60 to fill a tank may get through 2-3! (Again will be split ) then allow £20-30 for food drinks alcohol lunch other nic nacs a day ( eat breakfast like a king as it's free etc) so looking at £600-£700 if it's too much ... Simples , exchange it back when you get home , If you are worried about skimming etc of cards have a look into the post office pre paid card ! I am going to get a load transferred to R before travelling out then have enough on a card of some description for the rest !

Seriously, I might just take £1000 worth of Reals. That should cover everything, and If not Mr Barclaycard will be there to back me up. He's been to Brazil before, but I'll give them a ring just to make sure it's not blocked.

That Post office card sounds great, but I'm in the middle of applying for a mortgage and our home mortgage is due for renewal, so I can't apply for any new cards at the moment of it will affect my credit rating.

I've been so busy, I've not had much time to get out these last few weeks, hoping to give my new 5m its maiden voyage sometime this week. Got to get downwind nailed!

A lot of talk about downwinders. Having thought about it I probably have never really ridden downwind other than when landing (or crashing!), what is the big difference in technique? I'll have a go this weekend.

Hi Pete, it's lovely to see that you've recognise it is actually a different technique. Don't worry too much about it as there are a few others on the trip that haven't done downwinders either. We will b helping you master this technique on the 1st few days.

But basically u need to point your board downwind, put a bit more weight on your back foot (or you'll trip over the nose) then work the kite slightly to get going but be aware obviously that you're going towards the kite so it's likely to stall. Hope that helps?

As kitesurfers we spend the first few years trying to master going UPwind...but when you head to somewhere like Brazil then downwinders is what it is all about.

No longer do you have to keep trying to stay at the same point on the beach (bear in mind we are talking about cross shore winds not our more usual onshore direction) So you can try all your new tricks and keep going down wind no worries.

So you can kite back and forth out to see and back again and not be in any rush to hold your ground at the same spot.....but then you can also start to play in the surf, turning and running along the wave "down wind"

It's not a downwinder until you've done at least 25 miles I picked it up almost straight away after some useful tips from Marc & Sarah and a few cartwheels over the front of my board, pretty lucky considering I'd just embarked on the Hayling Island to Lancing run! So I wouldn't be panicking about Brazil if I were you...

Seriously Victoria , it will be fine . I haven't done any down wind this summer, so will have a learning curve as well. But rather learn in brazil in the solid conditions then here on some squally day on a beach that isn't suitable to be on! I would just get out and have fun riding before you go !

Seriously Victoria , it will be fine . I haven't done any down wind this summer, so will have a learning curve as well. But rather learn in brazil in the solid conditions then here on some squally day on a beach that isn't suitable to be on! I would just get out and have fun riding before you go !

Wise words

Brazil will give you what you need - constant conditions, unlike the squally wind we are getting at the moment, which really will not help you

Enjoy your riding, don't worry. It's better to fall over in bath water than our cold water

Yay!!!! If the conditions present themselves, I'll give down wind a shot this weekend, but I don't think that's likely. I was getting all stressed because I thought we had to learn before we went. Panic over.

Happy days

On a seperate note, who's everyone using for travel/dangerous sports insurance?

I forgot it was 3 hours before, glad you said that. Also just a warning, on a Friday afternoon/evening, anywhere around Heathrow and M25 can be absolutely shocking, so allow lots of time to get there. My boss is going to love me leaving work that early-full day, yeah right! So are soft bags rather than suitcases going to be better for getting all of our stuff into the cars? 16 days

I saw him when we were there, most of us were on 9's and I saw 'some' guy do this masseeeeve jump on a (15m Dyno I think it was) looking just like the picture on the cover of his DVD.I thought WTF? Then it clicked it was Toby

Hey all, I wanted to ask about the post office cash card. Ive just enquired about it and they tell me we can't withdraw brazil real but we can use it for $US. Can we pay for stuff in brazil using $US? I assume we can but I just wanted to check I'm looking at the right card. ThanksDave